[Vwdiesel] Sometimes life sucks!

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

  My daughter and I went to finish (partly finish it turned out again) a
job in Seattle.  Afterwards, colds and all, we headed on over to the
ocean for a couple nights rest doing NOTHING but mowing the lawn
and stoking the fire.  :)  Weather was beautiful if a little cool and we
just vegetated except for having mild colds.
  Then we get a phone call that my son was trying to be helpful and
put $10 worth of unleaded in my Rabbit!  In addition, it has a burned
out alt. light so you really have to rev it most of the time, to get it to
charge.  You have to listen for the whine in the radio.  He'd been
having trouble with starting it, since he never seemed to bother to
wind it out until it was charging.  Then he drove it with the gas in it
until it started running poorly and lost power.  :(  I was called back
and reassured that it was purring smoothly after Dad had put a gallon
of oil and half a gallon of diesel in it.
  I get home and am told it still won't start!  It helps if the battery
charger is TURNED ON or at least put to 10A rather than 1.5A.  So
my battery was almost stone dead.  I charged it up and it barely started.
It sputtered, smoked and wouldn't get above about 1200 rpm.  I went and
put some load on it to clear it out a little.  It has no power, won't wind
out, sputters like heck and even died while idling and won't hardly restart.
:(
I don't have time to drain, refill, maybe change injectors, pump.  <Sigh>
To top it off it's been a little low on coolant and I'm just hoping it wasn't
enough to let it get too hot through all this.
  I guess it doesn't pay to take a little time off.  I guess I'll go throw
the bolts
back in the turbo clamps of the Jetta and swap the insurance over and
just park the Rabbit for now.
    Loren (bummed)